
Why San Francisco is awesome —
Travis Ishikawa's three-run homer catapulted the San Francisco Giants into the 2014 World Series versus the Kansas City Royals. Undoubtedly, fans of both cities and teams will square off to argue which is best. Here are a few reasons that, once you visit, you'll leave your heart in San Francisco.

Dramatic bay views —
Alcatraz Island in the San Francisco Bay is home to a former maximum security federal prison that's become a major tourist attraction. Can you think of another prison in America that you'd line up and pay money to enter? Thought so. San Francisco breaks all the rules.

Dramatic bay views —
A stop by the Golden Gate Bridge, named not for its rusty orange hue but after the Golden Gate Strait at the entrance to the San Francisco Bay, is a must for dramatic travel photos. The 1.7 mile steel suspension bridge, one of the modern Wonders of the World, opened to traffic on May 27, 1937.

Great ethnic food —
San Francisco's Chinatown is the largest and oldest Chinatown in the United States. It's the place for an authentic Chinese dining experience, shopping and taking in some of the Eastern influences that make the city so culturally diverse.

Colorful people —
Ever seen a man run a race in little more than sneakers? If that's your thing, San Francisco's annual Bay to Breakers is a spectacle to behold. Costumed (and less than costumed) runners and walkers take to the streets for a raucous footrace in late spring, and some finish off with a boozy bash.

Movie landmarks —
Keep your feet planted firmly on the ground as you visit Fort Point, where Madeleine (Kim Novak) tries to commit suicide in Alfred Hitchcok's "Vertigo" and Scottie (James Stewart) fishes her out of the Bay in a dramatic scene.

Legendary music —
San Francisco has a creative pedigree that is, like, authentic, man. The foggy city has served as an incubator for bands like the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane and Journey. Here Bill Kreutzmann, Bob Weir, Ron "Pigpen" McKernan, Jerry Garcia and Phil Lesh(left to right) of the Grateful Dead pose before the iconic cityscape.

World's 'crookedest' street —
A block of San Francisco's Lombard Street has so many zig-zags that the one-way lane is dubbed the "crookedest street in the world." There's a reason behind the design that keeps tourists gawking: The switchbacks keep cars from careening down the steep street at an unsafe speed.



